September 2013 Newsletter

One of the results we see in our lives as we spend time in God’s Word and in His presence is that we grumble less and rejoice more. We’re not grumble-free yet, but it seems that with greater frequency we’re blinking back tears of joy and gratitude. It happened at the women’s retreat this summer after 50 ladies from the First Christian Bible Church of Santiago listened attentively as a gifted speaker spoke about being shaped by the Potter’s hand into vessels of mercy. As some reflected on the talk, their eyes lit up as they thought of ways God could use them in their communities to minister to others. Pray for a continued desire to disseminate Christ’s love. It also happened several times as we evaluated the preaching and teaching of the students in the Leadership Training Center as they labored to meet the final requirement of the homiletics course. We proudly listened to several of them creatively preach or teach the major points of a biblical passage. Just as proudly, we listened to one student breathlessly stumble through teaching a short passage—pushing through her fear of speaking in public. Bob is now teaching the sixth of eight courses—an overview of biblical doctrine. Pray that these men and women will understand and teach sound doctrine. Okay, so our eyes are not tearing-up all the time, but there are frequent bursts of joy as we witness God at work in people’s lives. I get to watch a young woman with the keen mind of an architect catch on quickly to the steps of studying a Bible passage. Another young mother in a difficult marriage chooses to make God a priority in her life and asks me to meet with her weekly. Bob repeatedly returns home with a smile after meeting with four of the young Haitian men who lead the Haitian worship service at the Los Girasoles church. Although each one is carrying a full load of courses at the university, they eagerly spend Thursday mornings with Bob learning how to preach biblical messages. Then there are those unexpected appointments that God arranges. When the electricity goes off at midnight, leaving the gate to the apartment parking lot stuck open, God turns it into an opportunity for Bob to share Christ with a neighbor. A visiting team of friends—a dad with his three daughters—do a curb-side children’s Bible club in La Yaguita. Not only do they get to share Christ with the kids, but Bob shares with the adults who lounge nearby on their front steps—speaking Spanish on one side of the street and Créole on the other. Pray that we seize the opportunities to boldly speak of Christ. We wake up in the mornings grateful to be a part of what God is doing here in Santiago. Experiencing the uncertainty of the mortgage problem with our apartment over the last two years has made us even more aware of God’s presence and His goodness. We’re grateful to the Lord for enabling us to pay off the rest of the mortgage in August, thereby protecting the apartment against foreclosure. God has used the apartment saga to teach us and those around us. Our Dominican friends like to use us as an example—of what not to do when buying an apartment, and what to do when experiencing difficult circumstances! Pray for us as we evaluate new opportunities for ministry. A recent visit to Santiago by a Cuban pastor and his wife has us thinking about ways to involve the Dominicans in ministry in Cuba. In addition, in October we’ll be starting English conversation classes with the two sons of a local Dominican family. The dad plays basketball with Bob. He mentioned that we are free to use the Bible in the classes, saying to Bob, I want my sons to have what you have. God is good—all the time,